Monday, May 27: Art for the People

UPDATED 2:29 PM EDT May 28, 2013

The ducklings in the Public Garden; the sculptures celebrating historic figures throughout Boston; the unexpected mural that brightens a blighted building - it’s all public art, and it all makes our environment livelier and more interesting. Tonight, we discover the people and the stories behind some of the city’s best known landmarks, as we explore the work of sculptors Nancy Schon and Bob Shure, and meet the movers and shakers behind Haverhill's iconic public art project.

Show Resources:

KARIN GOODFELLOW IS DIRECTOR OF THE BOSTON ART COMMISSION WHICH HAS HAD CARE AND CUSTODY OF ALL ART ON CITY PROPERTY SINCE 1890. BRAND NEW IS A “PUBLIC ART WALK” WITH A CELL PHONE AUDIO GUIDE AND INTERACTIVE WEB SITE.Public Art Boston

ROBERT McCLOSKEY’S “MAKE WAY FOR DUCKLINGS” HAS STOOD IMMORTILIZED IN BRONZE IN THE PUBLIC GARDEN FOR 25 YEARS. THERE IS A DUPLICATE SCULPTURE IN A MOSCOW PARK, A GIFT FROM FIRST LADY BARBARA BUSH TO RAISA GORBACHEV. IT WAS A DEFINING MOMENT FOR LOCAL SCULPTOR NANCY SCHÖN.Nancy Schon

CURRENTLY, NANCY SCHÖN’S VOLUME OF WORK IS ON DISPLAY AT KOLBO FINE JUDAICA GALLERY IN BROOKLINE. A RARE RETROSPECTIVE OF EVERYTHING FROM MAQUETTES AND FULL SIZE PUBLIC ART PIECES TO A TOUCHING COLLECTION SHE CREATED WHILE LIVING IN JERUSALEM. LAURENCE HARDOON IS THE GALLERY’S OWNER.

WHEN WE FIRST MET NORTH END RESIDENT NATE SWAIN, WE WERE INTRIGUED BY HIS UNIQUE BRAND OF PUBLIC ART…PHOTO MURALS DRESSING UP OTHERWISE BLANK WALLS. NOW NATE SOLVED THE PROBLEM OF UNSIGHTLY PULL DOWN GRATES ON STOREFRONTS.Nate Swain

WE WALK PAST THEM EVERYDAY…STATUES, MONUMENTS, MEMORIALS, PLAQUES, BUT WHAT DO WE REALLY KNOW ABOUT THESE ICONS OF HISTORY? A CURIOUS JOE GALLO WANTED TO KNOW MORE. HIS CURIOSITY LED HIM TO WRITE A BOOK HE TITLED, “BOSTON BRONZE AND STONE SPEAK TO US.”Boston Bronze and Stone Speak To Us

ENTER SKYLIGHT STUDIOS IN WOBURN AND YOU ARE MET WITH A MUSEUM QUALITY COLLECTION OF FAMOUS FACES. CAESAR, LINCOLN, LONGFELLOW… BOB SHURE IS A SCULPTOR WHO CREATES REPRODUCTIONS AND PROMINENT PUBLIC ART SUCH AS THE CY YOUNG STATUE AND THE MASSACHUSETTS FALLEN FIREFIGHTERS MEMORIAL.Bob Shure Skylight Studios105 Salem Street Woburn, MA 01801(781) 933-3822

HAVERHILL, SAYS MAYOR JAMES FIORENTINI, IS IN THE MIDST OF A RENAISSANCE THANKS, IN PART, TO “TEAM HAVERHILL” A BAND OF VOLUNTEERS WHOSE PUBLIC ART PROJECTS HAVE ADDED TO THE MUCH NEEDED FACELIFT HAPPENING THERE. IN 2009, A SHOE-LA-BRATION CELEBRATED THE CITY’S 180 YEAR SHOE-MAKING HISTORY. DARK DOWNTOWN ALLEY’S HAVE BEEN TRANSFORMED INTO FRIENDLY PASSAGEWAYS AND NEWLY COMPLETED IS THE MASSIVE ESSEX GATEWAY MURAL.

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